Thrtjst-bearietgk



M. MORRIS.

THRUST BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-28. 1911.

,307,509. PMGIHQLIJUHG 24,

D W W I l i tinrin MELTON MORRIS, OF I-IENEGAR, ALABAMA.

THRUST-BEARING.

Application filed. August 28. 1917.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MELTON MORRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Henegar, in the county of Dekalb and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thrust-Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to thrust bearings especially adapted to be used in connection with attrition or other mills, and has for an object to provide thrust bearings adapted to be used with a mill of the grinding stone type, and embodying an improved axial thrust bearing for the stone-carrying shaft, together with means for adjusting the stones relatively to vary the fineness of the product.

Another object of the invention is to provide means in a grinding mill of the character above described, for preventin drift of the stones, or to prevent them from coming in contact when the supply of grain is exhausted from the hopper.

Another object of the invention is to provide means in a grinding mill of the nature above described for preventing injury to the mechanism of the mill when a stone or other hard object is encountered in the grain.

A still further object of the invention is to improve the grinding mill of my invention disclosed in the Patent Number 1,217,621, by perfecting the mechanical details thereof and embodying therein the elements described above, whereby to permit the machine to grind materials from the coarsest to the finest, with the production of a product which may vary in degree of finenes at the will of the miller.

In addition to the foregoing, this invention comprehends improvements in the details of construction and arrangement of parts, to be hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claim.

In the a:.= ompanying drawings, in which similar and corresponding parts are designated by the same characters of reference, throughout the several views in which they appear Figure 1 is a view of a thrustbearing shown as attached to a grinding mill in vertical, longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a detail section taken on the line fl i of Fig. 1. 1

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View of the adjustment of the mechanism.

With reference to the drawings, 19 indi Specification of Letters Patent.

atented J true 24, 1919.

Serial No. 188.684.

catcs the corner posts of the frame of a grinding mill provided with a thrust bearing construction according to my invention, which are connected by cross bars 11, a cross bar 12 connecting the front corner posts, and a bar 13 the rear. A shaft 14 is extended through an opening in the rear cross bar 13 and over the front bar 12, and a collar 15 is fixed to the shaft adjacent the rear bar as indicated. A ball raceway is formed in the rear face of the collar for coaction with a raceway formed in an adjoining collar 16 loosely mounted on the shaft, between which collars a plurality of spherical bearing members 17 are arranged. A coiled spring 18 is embraced around the shaft and interposed between the cross bar 13 and the rearmost collar to urge the shaft forward.

A rotary stone 19 is fixedly mounted on the shaft, and said shaft is extended through an aperture in the center of a stationary stone 20, between the adjacent faces of which stones the grain is fed and ground.

The stationary stone is mounted in an aperture to receive the same formed in a plate 21 which is formed at the corners with ears whereby the plate may be secured to the frame.

The forward end of the shaft projects through the feeding mechanism which comprises a semi-cylindrical casing 22 which is formed with an integrally formed semibearing member 23 having a circular apertured and threaded extremity 2st. The for ward end of the shaft rests in the bearing member 23, and a cap 25 is secured to said bearing member to hold the shaft in place. A SlEQVQ, 26 is threadedly engaged in the cir cular terminal 24- of the bearing member, and a jam nut 27 is applied to the end of the sleeve to hold the game against displacement. The sleeve is also internally threaded to receive an adjusting screw 28 provided with a hand wheel whereby it may be rotated. A jam nut 30 applied to the screw serves to on gage the end of the sleeve and to hold the screw in adjusted position. The forward end of the shaft is spaced from the sleeve to permit the insertion of an anti-friction element comprising spaced plates 31 holding therebetween ball bearing members. It will be apparent that by rotating the screw 28 so as to engage the same upon the antifriction element and to engage the said element upon the end of the shaft, said shaft may bemoved endwise against the tension spring 18, to permit the spring to move the shaft when the screw is rotated in a counter direction, thereby adjusting the rotary stone 19 toward or away from the stationary stone. It will be furthermore apparent that the sleeve 26 may be adjusted inward to such an extent as to limit the forward movement of the shaft and to prevent actual contact of the grinding stones, even when the screw 28 is entirely retracted, thereby preventing injury to the surfaces of the stones in the event that a too fine adjustment is attempted.

The casing of the feeding mechanism is completed by superposing a rectangular casing 33 upon the semi-cylindrical casing, said casing 33 being open at the top and bottom and formed with ears 3st for engagement with similar ears 35 formed on the semi-cylindri cal casing,and which ears are held together by bolts 36. One end of the semi-cylindrical casing is formed with cars 37, apertured to receive bolts 38 whereby the casing may be secured directly to the outer face of the'sta tionary stone, thereby securing a tight joint between the feeding mechanism and said stone, and many other advantages. The casing of the feeding mechanism may also rest upon the front cross bar 12 of the frame.

A cylindrical element 39 provided upon its surface with a plurality of spirally wound ribs is mounted on the shaft, and is held thereto by means of a wooden pin 41 which passes through a transverse opening in the element 89 and through an opening formed in the shaft. The element89 serves the double purpose of a cutting and a feeding element, and in the event that a hard object, such as a stone is encountered in the grain, the wooden pin may break, thus permitting the cutting element to rotate relatively to the shaft or vice versa, and preventing injury to the mechanism.

The bottom wall of the semi-cylindrical casing 22 is formed with an opening adjacent the rear end thereof to permit the insertion therein of a slide 4-2 guided for vertical movement and having a semi-circular notch formed in its upperedge whereby to engage the slide around the shaft in the uppermost position of the slide. The rear wall of the casing 33 is similarly formed in its lower edge with a semi-circular notch, whereby the shaft may be partly embraced thereby, and, in conjunction with the slide, form a com plete cut-0ft for the feeding mechanism, and permit the amount of material fed between the stones to be regulated by moving the slide in the manner indicated.

A table for receiving the grain or material to be ground may be supported on the top of the frame as indicated at -l3, and a hopper 4% located adjacent one edge of said table may have its small end inserted in the upper easing' of the feeding' mechanism, whereby, the material, piled upon the table may be shoved, a little at a time, as occasion requires, toward the front edge thereof and into the hopper. A casing 45 surrounds the stones, and in the usual manner is provided with a peripheral outlet not shown) to permit withdrawal of the finished product.

The semi-cylindrical casing 22 of the feeding mechanism is formed with a lateral recess $6 extending longitudinally to receive a cutter bar 47. The bar is held in place by means of a plate 48 which is secured to the inner face of one wall of the top casing in a manner to permit vertical adjustment of the plate. The plate is formed with one edge bent to engage the bar. The cutter bar is adapted to engage the ribs of the spiral ribbed element, and to out large particles prior to feeding the same into the stones.

By means of this arrangement, corn cobs, together with the kernels may be ground into a powder or meal of uniform grade by the same operation. It has been my experience that this mixture of ground corn and cobs, which is a highly nutritious food, when ground with my machine will be eaten by hogs and other animals without objection, although, it has heretofore been fed unsuccessfully because the cob could not be ground sufliciently fine to deceive the animal.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In a device of the class described, a frame, a shaft extending through said frame, a send-cylindrical easing partially inelosing and supporting said shaft beyond the frame, an annular portion on said casing, a sleeve threaded in said annular portion, means for locking said sleeve against turning movement, a stem threaded into said sleeve, antifriction holding devices between said stem and the end of said shaft, the end of said stem adapted to move said devices, balls carried by said antifriction devices and means for holding said stem against turning movement.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MELTON MORRIS. lVitnesses J. S. WI-IITMIRE, J. T. BARNES.

Copies of this patent ma be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

